Publication - 14 September, 2009
It's not just the economy that's in crisis...In 2009, the world is reeling from a collapse of the financial markets. The effects have been large job losses in the UK, USA and other developed nations, volatile stock markets and millions of ordinary people struggling to pay their bills.
Working for the Climate: Renewable Energy & the Green Job [R]evolution
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Executive summary: Right now, our Earth faces a crisis that dwarfs the global financial one. Climate change will affect the fundamental livelihood of millions of people. We are all going to be affected, rich and poor, by more frequent natural disasters, changes to food production patterns, raised sea levels and coastal destruction.
The climate crisis and the financial crisis are not two competing issues that need to be addressed separately by the world community. The solution to one is, in fact, the answer to the other. Investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy helps the economy by increasing employment in the power sector, while reducing energy costs and easing the over-use of precious natural resources. By making the switch to renewable energy we can halt the carbon dioxide building up in the atmosphere and create a path away from irreversible climate change.
Working for the Climate is a study to determine the potential for 'green jobs' in the energy sector, and how this potential compares to a business-as-usual approach, with little or no action being taken to avert climate change. We found that, under the Energy [R]evolution scenario, there would be an overall increase of around 2 million power sector jobs over the next 20 years; and with an Energy [R]evolution in place, there would be more than 8 million jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency - three times the amount of jobs under the business-as-usual approach.
The jobs analysis for Working for the Climate was conducted by the Insitute of Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Num. pages: 72